Extracts from NATTA's journal
Renew, issue 144 July- Aug 2003

10. REGO green power certification

Producers of green power will soon be able to provide buyers with a guarantee that their electricity is from specified renewable sources, under a new European Union initiative. The Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) scheme will offer a certification system which is expected to be of interest to small generators seeking to sell electricity to eco-friendly consumers, and, as an EU-wide scheme, it will also guarantee green credentials to overseas customers. In the UK, it is proposed that an electronic certification system will be administered by Ofgem, the power industry regulator.

The REGO certificates will work alongside the existing Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) which are only available to generators producing more than 0.5MW per month from specified renewable sources, and REGO power will have to be additional to power claimed under the RO system. That however could involve some sources which not everyone will be happy about. For example, the DTI press release says that unlike the ROC system, ‘the REGO will apply to large-scale hydropower schemes and electricity from some forms of waste’.

For more see the DTI consultation document at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/renewables/policy_obligation/regosdoc.shtml